08-18-2017, 09:38 AM
While I'm not really a fan of abandoning divisions, doing so would allow for a schedule in which even a school in a conference of 14 could play all the other schools in the conference at least twice in 4 years (and with only an 8-game conference schedule). I was inspired by this article. Basically, for a 14-team conference, each team gets 3 protected annual matchups and alternates between half of the other 10 opponents every 2 years. The author proposes a different scheme for the ACC, adding ND as a full member and having 4 protected matchups. Here I'm working with the ACC as is and giving them 3 protected matchups like the Big Ten and SEC. I also changed some of the matchups around in each conference. I tried to retain traditional/desired rivalries while still remaining somewhat competitively balanced.
The last 2 columns for the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC are the matchups I'd add if the conferences wanted to expand to 4 or 5 protected matchups. Having 5 protected matchups works well with a 9-game conference schedule, permitting each team to play all other teams at least twice in 4 years.
ACC
Big Ten
SEC
I also have one for the Pac-12. The protected matchups were obvious. I suppose they could go with an 8-game schedule, but if they stick with 9 games, every team can play 3 California schools per season. This gives the Northwest and Mountain schools equal access to the coveted SoCal recruiting grounds.
Pac-12
Here's my setup for the ACC with 15 schools (ND goes all in). Each school has 4 protected matchups.
ACC
What do you think of the whole scheme? Any matchups I should change?
The last 2 columns for the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC are the matchups I'd add if the conferences wanted to expand to 4 or 5 protected matchups. Having 5 protected matchups works well with a 9-game conference schedule, permitting each team to play all other teams at least twice in 4 years.
ACC
Code:
BOSTON COLLEGE Syracuse Miami-FL Pittsburgh | Virginia | Louisville
CLEMSON Georgia Tech Florida State NC State | Virginia Tech | Miami-FL
DUKE Wake Forest Georgia Tech North Carolina | NC State | Virginia
FLORIDA STATE Miami-FL Clemson Georgia Tech | Louisville | Virginia Tech
GEORGIA TECH Clemson Duke Florida State | Pittsburgh | North Carolina
LOUISVILLE Pittsburgh Virginia Tech Syracuse | Florida State | Boston College
MIAMI-FL Florida State Boston College Virginia Tech | Syracuse | Clemson
NC STATE North Carolina Wake Forest Clemson | Duke | Pittsburgh
NORTH CAROLINA NC State Virginia Duke | Wake Forest | Georgia Tech
PITTSBURGH Louisville Syracuse Boston College | Georgia Tech | NC State
SYRACUSE Boston College Pittsburgh Louisville | Miami-FL | Wake Forest
VIRGINIA Virginia Tech North Carolina Wake Forest | Boston College | Duke
VIRGINIA TECH Virginia Louisville Miami-FL | Clemson | Florida State
WAKE FOREST Duke NC State Virginia | North Carolina | Syracuse
Big Ten
Code:
ILLINOIS Northwestern Purdue Rutgers | Indiana | Minnesota
INDIANA Purdue Rutgers Northwestern | Illinois | Michigan State
IOWA Nebraska Wisconsin Minnesota | Northwestern | Ohio State
MARYLAND Rutgers Penn State Purdue | Nebraska | Michigan
MICHIGAN Michigan State Ohio State Penn State | Wisconsin | Maryland
MICHIGAN STATE Michigan Northwestern Ohio State | Penn State | Indiana
MINNESOTA Wisconsin Nebraska Iowa | Purdue | Illinois
NEBRASKA Iowa Minnesota Wisconsin | Maryland | Purdue
NORTHWESTERN Illinois Michigan State Indiana | Iowa | Wisconsin
OHIO STATE Penn State Michigan Michigan State | Rutgers | Iowa
PENN STATE Ohio State Maryland Michigan | Michigan State | Rutgers
PURDUE Indiana Illinois Maryland | Minnesota | Nebraska
RUTGERS Maryland Indiana Illinois | Ohio State | Penn State
WISCONSIN Minnesota Iowa Nebraska | Michigan | Northwestern
SEC
Code:
ALABAMA Auburn Tennessee LSU | Georgia | Florida
ARKANSAS Texas A&M Missouri Mississippi St | LSU | Ole Miss
AUBURN Alabama Georgia Florida | Mississippi St | Texas A&M
FLORIDA Georgia South Carolina Auburn | Tennessee | Alabama
GEORGIA Florida Auburn South Carolina | Alabama | Tennessee
KENTUCKY South Carolina Vanderbilt Tennessee | Ole Miss | Missouri
LSU Ole Miss Texas A&M Alabama | Arkansas | Mississippi St
MISSISSIPPI ST Missouri Ole Miss Arkansas | Auburn | LSU
MISSOURI Mississippi St Arkansas Texas A&M | Vanderbilt | Kentucky
OLE MISS LSU Mississippi St Vanderbilt | Kentucky | Arkansas
SOUTH CAROLINA Kentucky Florida Georgia | Texas A&M | Vanderbilt
TENNESSEE Vanderbilt Alabama Kentucky | Florida | Georgia
TEXAS A&M Arkansas LSU Missouri | South Carolina | Auburn
VANDERBILT Tennessee Kentucky Ole Miss | Missouri | South Carolina
I also have one for the Pac-12. The protected matchups were obvious. I suppose they could go with an 8-game schedule, but if they stick with 9 games, every team can play 3 California schools per season. This gives the Northwest and Mountain schools equal access to the coveted SoCal recruiting grounds.
Pac-12
Code:
ARIZONA Arizona State Colorado Utah
ARIZONA STATE Arizona Utah Colorado
CALIFORNIA Stanford UCLA USC
COLORADO Utah Arizona Arizona State
OREGON Oregon State Washington Washington St
OREGON STATE Oregon Washington St Washington
STANFORD California USC UCLA
UCLA USC California Stanford
USC UCLA Stanford California
UTAH Colorado Arizona State Arizona
WASHINGTON Washington St Oregon Oregon State
WASHINGTON ST Washington Oregon State Oregon
Here's my setup for the ACC with 15 schools (ND goes all in). Each school has 4 protected matchups.
ACC
Code:
BOSTON COLLEGE Syracuse BYE/OTHER Pittsburgh Notre Dame Miami-FL
CLEMSON Virginia Tech NC State Florida State Georgia Tech (South Carolina)
DUKE BYE/OTHER Georgia Tech NC State North Carolina Wake Forest
FLORIDA STATE Georgia Tech Louisville Clemson Miami-FL (Florida)
GEORGIA TECH Florida State Duke Notre Dame Clemson (Georgia)
LOUISVILLE Pittsburgh Florida State Syracuse Virginia Tech (Kentucky)
MIAMI-FL Notre Dame Virginia Tech BYE/OTHER Florida State Boston College
NC STATE BYE/OTHER Clemson Duke Wake Forest North Carolina
NORTH CAROLINA BYE/OTHER Wake Forest Virginia Duke NC State
NOTRE DAME Miami-FL Pittsburgh Georgia Tech Boston College (Stanford/USC)
PITTSBURGH Louisville Notre Dame Boston College BYE/OTHER Syracuse
SYRACUSE Boston College Virginia Louisville BYE/OTHER Pittsburgh
VIRGINIA Wake Forest Syracuse North Carolina BYE/OTHER Virginia Tech
VIRGINIA TECH Clemson Miami-FL BYE/OTHER Louisville Virginia
WAKE FOREST Virginia North Carolina BYE/OTHER NC State Duke
What do you think of the whole scheme? Any matchups I should change?